Dodgers 2013 End-Of-Season Evaluations: Matt Kemp

Coming into this season, Matt Kemp was expected to have an MVP-like season for the Los Angeles Dodgers.

He was viewed as one of the best center fielders in the game and was thought to be the x-factor for the Dodgers if they were going to make any noise in the National League this year.

Two years removed from his incredible MVP-caliber 2011 season in which he hit .324 with 39 home runs, 126 RBI and 40 stolen bases, Kemp missed 40-plus games in 2012, but still was able to hit .303 with 23 home runs, 69 RBIs and only nine stolen bases.

The Dodgers were hoping Kemp would revert back to his 2011 ways, but didn’t expect what 2013 brought.

Regular Season Grade: C

Things didn’t go to plan as Kemp missed even more time this past season with several injuries to his shoulder and legs.

Kemp appeared in just 73 games and waineffective at the plate for most of the year as he only hit .270 with six home runs, with only two of them in the first three months of the season.

He had a miserable start to the season as he struck out 60 times in the first two months, but after coming back from his ankle injury he was much improved. Kemp hit .314 with a home run and six RBI as he looked like the old MVP candidate. However, a late scratch in one of the Dodgers last regular season games, Kemp was lost for the playoffs with a severe ankle injury.

Playoff Grade: Incomplete

Kemp didn’t make it to October as he finished the season on the DL and missed the postseason. Andre Ethier filled in for him at center field in the NLCS while Skip Shumaker was the starting center fielder in the NLDS.

With Kemp looking like his old self, there’s no telling how far they could’ve gone if he was healthy.

Overall Grade: C-

Kemp’s 2013 season was a huge disappointment as he struggled all year to stay on the field and when he was on the field, he never looked comfortable until another injury ended his season.

The next question remains: How will Kemp look after two major off-season surgeries? Before his injury riddled 2012 and 2013 seasons, Kemp was seen as an ironman of sorts.

GM Ned Colletti and president Stan Kasten have both gone on record to say they aren’t shopping any of the Dodgers four outfielders, but Kemp’s name has popped up the most. The perfect bounceback candidate in 2014, Kemp looked better towards the end of the season and hopefully he’ll carry that momentum into his off-season workouts.